Machine for binding and tying up packages or bundles

ABSTRACT

The present invention machine is for binding and tying up packages or bundles, and comprises a table provided with an opening for the passage therethrough of a string guiding arm which performs one reciprocation during each tying operation, and below said table a knotter and a retaining means for the string which in cooperation with said string guiding arm form the knot, as well as cutter means for cutting the strand of string between the formed knot and the string supply at a point near the freshly formed knot.

United States Patent [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1959Litz 12/1967 Auberg.... 3,416,824 12/1968 Nolt et a1.

[72] inventor Peter WernerBorn Zofingen, Switzerland 856,530

[21] Appi. No.

[22] Filed Sept. 10,1969 [45] Patented June 8,1971

Primary Examiner- Louis K. Rimrodt Attorney-Linton & Linton AssigneePeter Born AG Zofingen, Switzerland [32] Priority Sept. 10,1968 33Switzerland [3 1 13505/68 ABSTRACT: The present invention machine is forbinding and typing tying up packages or bundles, and comprises a tableprovided with an opening for the passage therethrough of a stringguiding arm which perfonns one reciprocating during each tyingoperation, and below said table a knotter and a retaining means for thestring which in cooperation with said string guiding arm fonn the knot,as well as cutter means for cutting the strand of string between theformed knot and the 16, 18 string supply at a point near the freshlyformed knot.

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PATENTED JUN a l97| SHEET 2 BF 4 PATENTED JUN 8 :97:

SHEET 3 BF 4 PATENTED JUN 8 l9?! SHEET '4 OF 4 MACHINE FOR BINDING AND'IYING UP PACKAGES R BUNDLES The present invention is concerned with amachine for binding and tying up packages or bundles. y

In a machine of this kind known in the art the retaining means are sodevised that after the completion of each knot the strand between thepackage or bundle and the string guiding arm as well as the strand ofstring from the package to the end of the string are both gripped by theretaining means and cut. A length of string is therefore cut off thislatter strand and drops into the machine as waste. These surplus piecesof string often cause trouble.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide retainingmeans such that no waste ends of string are formed.

Another important object of the invention is to simplify the mechanismby eliminating the need for a special cutter, the carrier arm for such acutter and the cam for operating the arm. A further object of theinvention is to effect a saving in the consumption of string when tyingup packages and bundles of given diameter.

According to the invention these objects are achieved in that theretaining means includes a support having rounded string guiding facesand is movable from a position of rest against the resistance of aspring towards the knotter, and two cam-operated retaining armseachformed with a hook-shaped recess for forming two string grippingpoints, namely a rear gripping point and a front gripping point closerto the knotter, with operation of said retaining arms by the cams beingso controlled that at the beginning of a working cycle the end of thestring held at the rear is first also wedged in the front gripping pointand then released at the rear gripping point, that during the knottingoperation the entire retaining means are pulled towards the knottedagainst theresistance of the spring, and that the cutter means consistof a knife edge which on that retaining arm which together with'thesupport forms the front gripping point is formed in front of thehook-shaped recess, said knife edge taking effect after the knottingoperation, during the first part of the movement of said retaining armin the direction of releasing the end of the string from the frontgripping point, and after the strand of string that is to be cut hasbeen wedged at the rear gripping point.

The accompanying drawings schematically illustrate an embodiment of theinvention with the omission of some of the parts of the machine whichare already well known in conventional machines, and which do notfurther contribute to an understanding of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the machine showing the movable parts inthe positions they occupy when the machine is stopped,

FIG. la is a view of the string retaining mechanism seen from above,

FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 6 are perspective views=similar to FIG. 1, butillustrating consecutive stages'in a working cycle of the machine, and

FIGS. 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a and 6a are views from above corresponding to FIG.In of the retaining mechanism in positions corresponding to those shownin FIGS. 2, 3 and 6, respectively.

The machine for binding packages or bundles according to the invention,of which only a part is shown in the drawing, comprises a frame, notincluded in the drawing, which carries a table T provided with anopening 1 for a string withdrawing and guide arm 2. In exactly the sameway as in conventional machines this arm can swing about a fixed pivotin part of the machine frame. The string which is withdrawn from a reelvia tensioning means runs over deflecting rollers mounted on the arm andthen through a hole 3 in the free end of the arm.

In conventional manner a mainshaft 4 is rotatablymounted under the tableT in the machine frame. This shaft performs one revolution for forming aloop around a package-or bundle and for simultaneously tying a knot. Theshaft is driven-by an electric motor, likewise not shown, and atransmission shaft 5.

Below the left hand end of the opening I in the table is a knotter K ofconventional construction. The knotter is rotatable about a shaft 6 in aswing mount, not shown, mounted on the control shaft 4. The swing mountand the knotter swing out of the plane of the drawing towards the viewerwhen the tying of the knot is about to be completed. For forming theknot the knotter performs a complete revolution in the directionindicated by an arrow 7. This movement is imparted thereto by a conedpinion 6a which is fast on the shaft 6 engaging a gear segment on acircular plate 8 affixed to the mainshaft 4. The knotter has a knotterbill .2 which can be hingeably raised and lowered and which forms partof a cranked lever mounted on the knotter. In the same way as inconventional machines the knotter bill is raised only during the lastpart of a knotter revolution, i.e. during the completion of the knot, asmall roller R on the other arm of the lever during this phase bearingagainst a stop which is provided on the above mentioned swing mount, andwhich is deflectable against the resistance of a spring by thetraversing roller R. For keeping the knotter bill Z in lowered positionthe roller R rides on a surface of the swing mount which is coaxial withthe shaft 6.

A certain distance away from the knotter K on the left is a retainingmechanism generally indicated by H. This retaining mechanism comprises asupport 9 and a retaining plate 10 bearing against that side of thesupport which faces the knotter, support and plate both preferablyconsisting of nylon. The support 9, the retaining plate 10 and two leafsprings l1, 12, of which one bears against the other side of the supportand the other against the outside of the retaining plate I0, areattached by screws 13 to the upper end 14a of a carrier arm 14. Thecarrier arm has a framelike lower end portion 14b which is deflectableon pivot pins 16 in fixed bearing members 15 towards the knotter K. Apowerful spring 17 seeks to keep the arm in position of rest in contactwith a fixed abutment I8.

The ends of a pivot pin 19 are fitted into the sides of part 14b saidpin being parallel to the mainshaft 4 when the carrier arm 14 is inposition of rest. Deflectably mounted on this pin are two retaining arms20, 21 of which each carries a follower roller 22 and 23 respectivelymaintained in contact with a cam 26 respectively 27 by a spring 24respectively 25. The cams are fixed on the mainshaft 4 and thus controlthe deflections in relation to the support 9 of the retaining arms 20,21 about the pivot pin 19. The upper arched shanks 20a and 21a of theretaining arms move in a slot 28 respectively in a recess 29 laterallyadjacent the retaining plate 10 at the upper end of the support 9. Thisend of the support thus forms fins 9a, 9b with rounded ends adjacent theslot and the recess, as indicated at 9c.

Each of the shanks 20a, 21b of the retaining arms contains a hook-shapedrecess 30 respectively 31 for the reception of parts of the stringwhich, as will be later described, are wedged during the rearwarddeflection of the relative retaining arm. As will be understood byreference to FIG. la a rear gripping point C1 is formed by thecooperation of the edge of the hooked recess 30 in the retaining arm 20with the adjacent rounds 9C, and as will be understood from FIGS. 4, 4a,5 and 5a a front" gripping point C2 closer to the knotter K is formed bythe cooperation of the edge of the hook-shaped recess 31 in retainingarm 21 with the side of the fin 9b facing the recess 29. The grippingpoint C2 extends to a rounded edge 10b on the front of an upwardprojection 10a at the back of the clamping plate '10. The part of thestring which is gripped at this point is the end of the string. It comesto lie between the fin 9b of the support and the shank 21a of theretaining arm 21, the latter together with the clamping plate 10 and theleaf spring 12 laterally yielding. A headed screw 33 which passesthrough this leaf spring 12, the clamping plate 10, the support 9 andthe leaf spring 11 carries a nut 34 and a lock nut 35 which limit thelateral deflection of the parts 21a, 10 and 12.

In front of the hooked recess 31 in the shank 21g of the retaining armwhich participates in the creating of the front gripping point C2, theshank'forms a knife edge 32 which sub? stantially coincides with aradius extending from the pivot axis of the retaining arm, and whichcuts when the retaining arm 21 pivots forwards, i.e. in the direction ofopening the gripping point at C2. In order to ensure a reliableengagement of the part of the string that is to be cut, an extension 21bof the shank 21a projects beyond the knife edge 31.

The described machine functions as follows:

In position of rest all the movable parts will be in the positions shownin FIG. 1, the end of the guide arm 2 containing the hole 3 beinglocated far enough above the table T to perrnit a package or bundle tobe pushed across the table to the left under the arm. The string S fromthe reel runs through the hole I and then on the left hand end of theopening I descends under the table, passing underneath the bill Z of theknotter K, and through the open hook-shaped recess 31 in the retainingarm 21 around the forward end of the retaining arm 20. The end S, of thestring is wedged at the rear gripping point C1.

When a package such as that shown at P is pushed across the tableroughly into the position shown in FIG. 2, this parcel will inconventional manner operate an electric switch for starting the motordriving the mainshaft 4 which therefore begins a single revolution. Atthe same time the arm 2 is operated in a manner not shown. Approximatelyat the same time as the free end of the arm descends through the tableopening 1 (FIG. 2) the cam 27 deflects the retaining arm 21 in theforward direction out of the place of the drawing towards the viewer,causing the hook-shaped recess 31 to enter the gap between the fin 9band the clamping plate 10 (FIG. 2a) thus wedging the string a secondtime (front" gripping point C2). Shortly afterwards the cam 26 permitsthe spring 24 to deflect the retaining arm and to uncover thehook-shaped recess thereby to open the rear gripping point CI andreleasing the end S ofthe string (FIG. 3).

Meanwhile the arms 2 continues its deflection and its free end passesunderneath the knotter K and the retaining arm 20 to insert the strandof string S extending from the package P to the hole 3 in the arm intothe hook-shaped recess 30 (FIG. 4) Shortly before the arm 2 reaches itsend position the cam 26 operates the retaining arm 20 and wedges thestrand S of the string at the rear gripping point C1.

Meanwhile, the cam 27 has further deflected the retaining arm 21 forwardout of the plane of the drawing towards the viewer carrying the end S ofthe string towards the projection 10a without releasing the same fromthe gripping point C2 whilst the end is additionally gripped by theprojection (FIG. 4).

Immediately afterwards the knotter K begins to rotate about its shaft 6in the direction of the arrow 7. consequently it forms a loop each instrand S of the string and in the strand S of the string which adjoinsthe end S, that is wedged in the front gripping point C2, these loopsembracing the upper part of the knotter and the knotter bill 2, as shownin FIG. 5. A certain length of string is required for forming theseloops and since the strand S1 of the string is firmly held by the frontgripping point C2, the latter must yield by moving towards the knotterK. For this reason the assembly 9, 14, 20, 21 is pivotably deflectableabout the pivot pin 16. The spring 17 can yield to this deflection.

When the knotter K has completed about three-fourths of a revolution andthe arm 2 has already traversed part of its return path, the upper partof the knotter K and the knotter bill Z will have engaged the strands SIand S2 of the string, as in conventional machines. Directly afterwardsthe knotter bill Z swings upwards, as already described, and theprojection at its face end thus retains the two strands S1 and S2 of thestring which it has engaged. When the knotter has completed a fullrevolution, the retaining arm 2ll begins to swing back into the plane ofthe paper urged by the spring 25 as far as the contour of the cam 27permits. When this motion begins the knife edge on this retaining arm 21already cuts the strand S, of the string (FIG. 6), whereas at the end ofthis deflection the strand S is released by the front gripping point C2.This strand S together with the short adjoining end S, projects from theknot that has been formed in the manner of a short stump. The springpulls the supporting arm 14 and the retaining arms 20,

21 back into their positions of rest determined by the abutment 18.

The formation of the knot is completed in conventional manner by thereturn of the swivel mount carrying the knotter, permitting the twoloops which embrace the upper part of the knotter and the knotter billto slide off over the strands of the string which had been retainedbetween the top of the knotter and the knotter bill, and which are'nowwithdrawn from the knotter by the return deflection of the swivel mount.The tied and bound package can now be removed from the table T. Theposition shown in FIG. I is thus reestablished and the next workingcycle can be begun by pushing another package that is to be tied ontothe table.

lclaim:

l. A machine for binding and tying up packages or bundles, comprising atable provided with an opening, a driven string guiding arm capable ofperforming one reciprocation during each tying operation, through saidtable opening, a knotter mounted below said table and a retaining meansfor the string which cooperates with said string guiding arm to form theknot, and includes cutting means for cutting the strand of stringbetween the finished knot and the string supply at a point near thefreshly formed knot, said retaining means including a support havingrounded string guiding faces and being movable from a position of resttowards said knotter, a spring tending to retain said support in itsrest position and two retaining arms each formed with a hook-shapedrecess for forming two string gripping points, namely a rear grippingpoint and a front gripping point closer to said knotter, driven camscapable of operating said retaining arms so that at the beginning of aworking cycle the end of the string held at the rear gripping point isfirst also wedged in the front gripping point and then released at therear gripping point, and said cutter means consist of a knife edge onthat retaining arm which together with said support forms the frontgripping point and is provided in front of the hook-shaped recess ofsaid retaining arm with said knife edge operating after the knottingoperation, during the first part of the movement of said retaining armin the direction of releasing the end of the string from the frontgripping point, and after the strand of string that is to be cut hasbeen wedged at the rear gripping point.

1. A machine for binding and tying up packages or bundles, comprising atable provided with an opening, a driven string guiding arm capable ofperforming one reciprocation during each tying operation, through saidtable opening, a knotter mounted below said table and a retaining meansfor the string which cooperates with said string guiding arm to form theknot, and includes cutting means for cutting the strand of stringbetween the finished knot and the string supply at a point near thefreshly formed knot, said retaining means including a support havingrounded string guiding faces and being movable from a position of resttowards said knotter, a spring tending to retain said support in itsrest position and two retaining arms each formed with a hook-shapedrecess for forming two string gripping points, namely a rear grippingpoint and a front gripping point closer to said knotter, driven camscapable of operating said retaining arms so that at the beginning of aworking cycle the end of the string held at the rear gripping point isfirst also wedged in the front gripping point and then released at tHerear gripping point, and said cutter means consist of a knife edge onthat retaining arm which together with said support forms the frontgripping point and is provided in front of the hook-shaped recess ofsaid retaining arm with said knife edge operating after the knottingoperation, during the first part of the movement of said retaining armin the direction of releasing the end of the string from the frontgripping point, and after the strand of string that is to be cut hasbeen wedged at the rear gripping point.